TUESDAY, NOV. 1, 2011

Some big literary names have been booked into Eastern Washington University's Get Lit! Festival April 11-15: Susan Orlean, author of "The Orchid Thief" and the just-released "Rin Tin Tin: Life and Legend," the biography of the famous movie dog. The latter is poised to be...

FRIDAY, OCT. 14, 2011

Sarah Vowell, the well-known author and radio voice, will speak at Spokane Community College's Presidential Speaker Series, Nov. 7, 7 p.m. Vowell is the author of the bestselling books, "The Wordy Shipmates," "Assassination Vacation,' and "Unfamiliar Fishes." She was also a regular contributor to public...

MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011

Just got back from Auntie's Bookstore where I purchased my summer reading project: The unabridged "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo. Since the musical adaptation is my favorite musical of all time, I figured it's about time for me to immerse myself in the genuine source...

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011

Thursday is the real Bloomsday (of the James Joyce variety), which means it's also the day of Spokane's annual Limerick Literary Pub Crawl and Traditional Irish Dinner. For $50, you can accompany a bagpiper, a bard or two and a band of like-minded revelers through...

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011

Eric Greitens, the author of "The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL," will do a reading and signing at Auntie's Bookstore, 402 W. Main, on Saturday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Greitens has been in the...

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

Get ready for the busiest week of the year on Spokane’s literary scene. Get Lit! begins on April 13 (Wednesday). The calendar holds so many events – 55 workshops, panels and readings – that the best way to find them all is to go to...

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

Here's another notable poetry reading to go along with the previous post, below. Nationally known poet Michele Glazer will read her work as part of the Third Annual Nadine Chapman Endowed Reading at Whitworth University on Friday, 7:30 p.m. Glazer is the winner of the...

I was unable to put together a Book Notes column last Sunday, but I wanted to make sure that everyone knew about the book launch of "Rust Fish" (Lost Horse Press), a volume of poetry by Spokane poet Maya Jewell Zeller. Zeller is a lecturer...

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2011

Greg Mortenson, the author of "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones Into Schools" drew a crowd of at least 4,000 to Gonzaga University's McCarthey Athletic Center -- on a night when this basketball-obsessed college was playing an Elite Eight women's game right down the road....

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011

I just finished interviewing Greg Mortenson, the co-author of "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones Into Schools." I have tremendous admiration for him and his work building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan and I have written an extensive story for Saturday's paper. But I didn't...

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011

Spokane’s Big Read is already getting rave reviews in its first week. Verne Windham of KPBX-FM wrote to tell me that he was amazed by the theater adaptation of “Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried.” He praised it for its “deep, thorough characterizations” and "consistent...

MONDAY, FEB. 28, 2011

The kick-off event for Spokane's Big Read will take place at the Spokane City Hall Chambers on Friday (March 4) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- and organizers will be handing out free copies of "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. This won't...

Local poet Jonathan Potter had a national airing today. Garrison Keillor read Potter's poem "You and I" on "The Writer's Almanac" on NPR this morning. A few weeks ago, Potter sent Keillor his poetry volume, "House of Words," published by Korrektiv Press, expecting ... well,...

TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2011

Gonzaga University’s Visiting Writers Series hosts its biggest name of the year on Wednesday (March 2): Rick Moody. Moody is the author of the novels “Garden State,” “Purple America,” “The Diviners” and most recently, “The Four Fingers of Death.” He is perhaps best known for...

THURSDAY, FEB. 10, 2011

Here’s a local development that illustrates the power of a book: On Dec. 22, the tower at Spokane International Airport was officially named the Ray Daves Air Traffic Control Tower. And it all came about because of the 2008 book “Radioman: An Eyewitness Account of...

SATURDAY, JAN. 29, 2011

One thing about being the books editor – I have the privilege of sorting through a lot of review copies. And before I started doing this I was oblivious to a pervasive publishing trend – the mystery series tied to hobbies, pets, professions and other...